CBS sells the Yankees to Mike Burke and George Steinbrenner for $10 million in 1973

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|

Jan 02, 2016 | 12:00 PM

A group, including Michael Burke and George Stenbrenner III, bought the Yankees for $10 million. (Bill Meurer)

(Originally published by the Daily News on January 4, 1973. This story was written by Phil Pepe.)

The Yankees have been sold to Mike Burke and George Steinbrenner III and 10 owners to be named later.

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At a press conference yesterday in Yankee Stadium, Michael Burke presiding, it was announced that the CBS eye has had it. After nine years, the network is bowing out of the baseball business for $10 million, or $3.2 million less than CBS paid for the club.

Burke pointed out, however, that the loss was no loss at all to the network. Because of its corporate structure, tax losses and the like, CBS "substantially recouped its investment" according to Burke.

In making the announcement, Burke, looking affluent in a navy blue, doublebreasted suit (pin-striped, naturally), said: "CBS has agreed to sell the New York Yankees to a group of individuals headed by George Steinbrenner…for $10 million in cash." Burke added that he will carry on as chief executive of the Yankees and that the Yankee organization will remain intact from top to bottom - including Lee MacPhail as general manager and Ralph Houk as field manager.

Burke also said, "The club will remain in the city," an announcement Mayor Lindsay endorsed in a separate statement of his own and through the presence at the press conference of Deputy Mayor Edward Hamilton.

As a result of the new deal, Burke will disassociate himself from CBS, for which he has worked since 1956 and where he became a vice president in 1962.

From his vantage point as vice president of CBS in charge of the Yankees, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the network, and as a potential purchaser of the clubs, Burke was in an advantageous position to learn that CBS was ready to unload the team and what it would take to buy it.

'No Longer Fit In'

Trying to speak for the network, Burke said he believed "The New York Yankees no longer fit comfortably in the plans of CBS." He said his group's offer of $10 million "in cash, not a dollar down and a dollar a week" was made on December 19 and accepted on December 22, to the surprise (because of the swiftness of the decision) of Burke and his group. A memo of understanding outlining the transaction was drawn up only last Friday, the last business day of the old year.

The Yankee president applauded CBS as "a good owner" because of its "patience and strength." While he would not say his group got the club for a bargain price, he said, "The Yankees would always be a desirable purchase. Having an American League team in New York is desirable, particularly at this time, with the team having fought its way back into contention."

George Steinbrenner was part of the group that bought the New York Yankees.

Only Burke and Steinbrenner of the new owners attended the conference. The names of the other 10 owners, in fact, have been withheld temporarily. They will be revealed, and the men introduced to the press, at a future press conference.

The common denominator between Burke, Steinbrenner and other 10 is "business relationship and personal friendship." One of the 10 may be Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, whose relation to Steinbrenner is that both are members of the board of directors of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA.

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The 12 new owners will be equal partners. Steinbrenner took center stage because, presumably, he is the man who put together the group.

Until only a few months ago, Steinbrenner and Burke did not know each other. But Burke's search for money men who might enter into a deal to buy the Yankees, eventually led, through a mutual friend, to Steinbrenner.

It was obvious, from his background, that Steinbrenner was the perfect man for Burke. For one thing, he had the money. For another, he had the interest. For a third, he could afford to have the Yankees for a toy. Steinbrenner has other toys. Boars. Real ones. He is Chairman and chief executive officer of the American Ship Building Company of Cleveland. That's not all. He is owner of Kinsman stud Farm in Ocala, Fla., part owner of the Chicago Bulls, partner in production of the Broadway musical "Applause" and the national companies of "Funny Girl," "George M." and "On a Clear Day."

Although he was born and brought up in Cleveland, Steinbrenner says he was always a Yankee fan, sort of. "The Yankees are important to the nation," he said. "I couldn't root for them against the Indians, but I admired them. There's a wave of nostalgia sweeping the country. Take the success of 'No, No, Nanette.' I even watched Guy Lombardo on New Year's Eve. I think the Yankees can be part of that nostalgia.